“I think pretty much every MMA fan out there wants Chandler-Alvarez 2, so give the fans what they want,” Chandler today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “If he stays in Bellator, let’s fight. Let’s do it two times, three times, four times, who cares.

“We’re fighters. Our job is to fight, and our job is to go out there and entertain the fans.”

Whether that happens is now a matter of getting past Season 6 tournament winner Rick Hawn (14-1 MMA, 6-1 BFC) and Alvarez signing a new contract.

Chandler attempts his first title defense Jan. 17 at Bellator 85, when he and Hawn headline the event at Irvine, Calif.’s Bren Center. Hawn is on a three-fight win streak and has just one loss in his professional career, which came via a controversial split decision to Jay Hieron in the Season 4 tournament final. Chandler is a favorite in betting lines.

But with Alvarez again in the news after UFC President Dana White said his contract negotiations with Bellator could get “ugly,” the topic of another fight is in the air.

Bellator recently modified a longstanding policy to allow fighters such as Alvarez a championship rematch. Previously, a fighter could only earn a title shot by winning an eight-man tournament.

The clause is attractive to Alvarez, who campaigned for a rematch with Chandler. But he is reportedly at odds with the promotion over a new contract offer, which was issued following one from the UFC.

Chandler, meanwhile, has no plans to leave. Bellator 85 serves as the promotion’s long-awaited debut on Spike TV after a two-year run on MTV2, and it’s expected to give the promotion a huge boost in visibility.

“Whatever is best for him, I hope it works out for him,” Chandler said. “He’s obviously motivated mostly by the money. He’s got two or three kids at home and a wife, so he’s got to support them. Wherever he’s getting paid the best is where he’s going to go.”

But if Alvarez goes, Chandler recognizes an opportunity might be missed. Few gave him a chance to beat the Philadelphia-based fighter, who was Bellator’s first lightweight champ and held the belt for two years.

Chandler, a Division I wrestler at the University of Missouri, burst onto the scene in the Season 4 tournament by sweeping the field before challenging Alvarez. In a thrilling “Fight of the Year” candidate in late 2011, he submitted Alvarez in the fourth round.

Several times Chandler has watched the fight and thinks of it as marker of how far he’s come as a fighter.

There are things he wish he’d done better the first time around, however.

“On a smaller scale, it’s a Dominick Cruz/Urijah Faber thing,” said Chandler, referring to the UFC bantamweight champ and former WEC champ. “Me and Alvarez are not rivals. I don’t dislike the guy. I don’t think he dislikes me. I beat him, and I’ll fight him again if I have to, but he’s always going to be a part of my legacy.

“No matter what, 20 years down the road when they talk about my career and talk about what a great champion I was, they’re going to talk about Alvarez.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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